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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. wind — moving air
  3. last — finally
  4. last — final
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fall — the season
  7. mug — a cup
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — for sport
  11. mug — a face
  12. mug — to rob
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. fall — to drop
  16. saw — the tool
  17. deal — to handle
  18. cold — not warm
  19. last — to go on
  20. fall — to drop
  21. field — farmland
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cold — an illness
  24. deal — an agreement

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com